Author: Dave Gee
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/12
Page Numbers: 107,108,110
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Safety Comes First - 2010/12

Gravity: 1; Dave: 0!

Dave Gee | [email protected]

This sport is all about outwitting the force of gravity. Our weapons in this battle are the tools and equipment we use to build models that can leave the ground and soar skyward.

As an indoor flier, I have to tote a lot of gear to the flying site to help my delicate, lightweight aircraft defeat gravity. In revenge, gravity snuck up on me last week and showed who was in charge. I got tangled up with a couple of my bulky toolboxes and fell down some concrete steps.

With one big box in each hand, while maneuvering around my wife Sweet Diedra as she held the screen door, I suddenly found myself facedown on what became bloodstained cement. She reacted with typical wifely concern, saying something that sounded like "Hah! Take that!" but was actually "Wow! Are you okay?"

Gravity can be sneaky, and I got caught trying to carry too much stuff to the van in one trip. My rush to leave on time resulted in a painful delay, with plenty of bandages and bloody paper towels.

Kids fall down a lot, but they are closer to the ground and weigh less than a full-size columnist. My terminal velocity is high enough to provide a spectacular impact that featured scrapes and bruises on all four limbs.

I was lucky. Grownups often break bones in falls—especially wrists and hips. When one's feet are not under the body's center of gravity (CG), things can get ugly.

I use a four-wheeled cart to move my flying gear from the car to the gym or field, but the stuff has to be carried box by box in and out of the house. It has been suggested that I lug too much gear around, and that the boxes should at least be matched and capable of being carried by one hand each.

Until recently I responded with a witty "Bah!" Now the point is hard to miss. Indoor and FF Scale aircraft need protection during travel, so bulky boxes are the norm. By the way, the tools and models survived the fall much better than I did. There was no damage at all. Thanks for asking.

Warning decals for flyaways

Dave Laycock emailed me concerning a new thought he had about an old idea. His flying site has residential areas nearby and he is concerned about the possibility of a flyaway airplane coming down in someone's backyard with the power system still energized. A nonmodeler might not know how to safely handle and turn off an electric-powered aircraft.

Although Dave takes every precaution, including setting his failsafe mode, he wondered if it would be worthwhile to have a warning sticker on the airplane in addition to the usual contact information and owner's name. He suggested:

  • "Caution! Motor may start suddenly. Unplug the battery connector."
  • "Move the switch to the (down, up) position."
  • "Caution! Do not handle! Please call (your cell phone number)."

He also thought that the AMA might be interested in distributing such decals.

We discussed it and Dave has a good point. I'd hate for someone to be harmed by my flyaway model. On the other hand, the odds of this situation occurring are low and there are other factors. I have learned at many booth and display events that nonfliers are so dazzled by the sight of a "cool model" that they will grab the propeller or pick up an airplane by the rudder. For this reason I suspect that a warning probably would not even be seen. Few people would have the good sense to find and read a warning label before handling such an enticing object.

Can you imagine how tough it would be to design decals to fit and cover every type of model?

Dave's warning is a good thing to add to your airplane and I will do so from now on, but trying to organize official "approved" power-system warning decals would be too big of a job for the value. Additionally, someone at AMA Headquarters might end up mad at Dave and me for pushing the idea.

Repeated close calls at the field

On the subject of people in Muncie, Indiana, who might get mad at me, MA Editor Michael Ramsey forwarded a great email. He ought to know what can happen with controversial stuff here, and either he lets me get away with plenty or doesn't read my column. (Editor's note: I do too! But I'm not telling you where.)

I'll keep this story anonymous to protect the innocent.

The scene was a popular RC flying field with airplanes moving on the ground and in the air. A pilot was preparing for takeoff. The model was a midsize gas trainer.

This airplane throttled up and lurched forward, then suddenly veered off the runway. It narrowly missed another flier and headed for the crowded pit area at top speed. The pilot apparently froze with the sticks at full throttle.

Warning shouts went up, but nobody could stop the errant model as it ran across the ground. Luckily it hit another airplane instead of a person. At least the aircraft's owner offered to pay for repairs.

The real problem is that this incident was only the most recent for this particular pilot. He has a history of crashes and close calls, and witnesses say that it was not a coincidence.

Pilot error or inattention is usually involved in such incidents. Other fliers at the field are worried that there will eventually be an injury. Since he sometimes flies much larger models, someone could be seriously harmed.

The person who wrote in asked if some report could or should be made to the AMA about the pilot, and if insurance coverage should be extended to such a person.

Have you or your club dealt with someone who cannot see that his or her own lack of skill is a danger to others? In previous columns I have discussed pilots who deliberately cause dangerous situations, but how about someone who does it inadvertently and repeatedly? (I realize that I'm in this category, so I try to stay within my limitations and crash my aircraft well clear of everyone.)

If the field belongs to a club or is otherwise privately controlled, there may be some options for diplomatically approaching the problem pilot. It would be nice to avoid hurt feelings, but not at the expense of hurt bodies.

What about at a public field where everyone has a right to fly? What can be done about a well-intentioned but dangerous flier?

I'd appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this subject and I'll share the best ideas. My email address is in the header and my postal address is in the "Sources" listing at the end of this column.

Please let me know about any close calls or other modeling adventures while you're at it. People love to hear good stories and it might save someone from getting hurt.

Buddy-box close call

Charles E. Castaing had an educational close call while he was instructing. He was using his transmitter with a buddy-box setup and had changed modules to suit the student's airplane.

He wrote:

"I generally use my transmitter on 2.4 GHz, and only occasionally on 72 MHz. As a result, I got in the habit of not extending the antenna. The student's plane was on channel 55 and I installed the proper module in the transmitter to match his receiver for the training lesson.

"After the training session with the student, in which I saved the plane from crashing several times, I was shocked to see I had not extended the antenna on the transmitter! Only luck saved the plane from going out of range! It seems flying 2.4 GHz without having to extend the antenna had made me complacent and careless."

Charles learned a lesson of his own during that training session! We all fall into routines, and most of the time this is a good thing that helps us remember all the important little steps. It can be a problem when small errors fall into our regular practices, as Charles found with his radio band-change routine.

I still have occasional moments of panic when I see out of the corner of my eye that my transmitter aerial is not extended, and then I realize that I am flying a 2.4 GHz radio.

(Editor's note: A buddy-box antenna needs to be neither extended nor installed.)

Photos, outreach, and kids

My readers have gotten used to the three photographs in my column being related to subjects I discuss. Sorry to say, this month it ain't so. I picked some fun pictures and stuck them in.

The shot of me sitting in a restored AT-6 was taken at a local air show. The Commemorative Air Force was selling these photos as a fund-raiser, which is clever.

I wonder if our clubs could do something similar at a public event, such as selling souvenir photos of visitors holding a nice model or in a carefully arranged pose to look as though they are flying an RC helicopter.

It was easy to get me into the aircraft, but they had to lure me out with a chili dog and then wipe the inside of the windshield because I had been making engine noises.

Longtime readers know what a big proponent I am of bringing kids into the hobby. I snapped a picture of Kamren James launching his souped-up Sky Streak at an indoor session. He demonstrated considerable skill with an RC helicopter, and when I set him up with a fixed-wing model he showed his versatility as a pilot.

Video games and Internet chat can't hold a candle to real live aeromodelling. We need to expose kids to the thrill of flight, and our hobby will remain strong.

I got a thrill of my own when I saw Don Butman's marvelous Bellanca CF. It is an FF Scale model with just enough artistic detail to portray the subject and a lightweight structure for fine flying. Don is a true craftsman.

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.